Oswestry man jailed for sexual assault on train

An Oswestry man has been jailed for five weeks and ordered to sign on the sex offenders register for seven years after sexually assaulting a woman on a train.

Geoffrey Mark Ball, 39, of no fixed abode, admitted sexually assaulting the 24-year-old on a train between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth on August 12.

He was jailed for five weeks by Welshpool Magistrates on December 9, the British Transport Police (BTP) said today.

Ball was identified as the suspect for the assault after BTP officers viewed CCTV footage taken from the 7.30pm train from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth.

While officers knew Ball's identity, they did not know his whereabouts at that stage and issued a media appeal to try to trace him.

A number of people contacted BTP with information that Ball was living at an address in Oswestry.

Sergeant Karl Anderson, the investigating officer, said: "I would like to thank the media who assisted us with our appeal and those members of the public who subsequently contacted us with information."

Their help has proved invaluable in bringing Geoffrey Mark Ball to justice."

"This incident also shows that anyone who commits an offence on trains will be on CCTV and those high quality images will provide BTP and the courts with invaluable evidence to help secure convictions."

Anyone who witnesses a crime on the rail network should contact British Transport Police on 0800 405040. In an emergency, dial 999.